Trump back in campaign mode

MELBOURNE, UNITED STATES US President Donald Trump turned back the clock on Saturday with a speech right out of his 2016 campaign populist playbook, insisting all is well in the White House despite weeks of chaos.

He took aim at his favourite foil, the "dishonest" news media that he said has become "part of the corrupt system".

At the end of a stormy first month in office, Mr Trump took the power of the presidency back to the style and substance of the campaign trail.

He stepped down from Air Force One to cheers from around 9,000 followers - mostly white, mostly male middle-class Americans who feel left behind by the US' shifting economy.

Mr Trump said: "I'm here because I want to be among my friends and among the people."

He used a loud and muscular delivery - as on the campaign trail last year - to assure Americans he is fulfilling promises to shrink government, rebuild the military, restrict immigration and tear up healthcare reforms enacted by his predecessor Barack Obama.